Wednesday, June 30, 2010

"O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Start with thankfulness to the Creator of all things. That is the only way to begin for me and keep a perspective. Thinking about the pervasive presence of God in so many things.

Looking at family pictures, may that have been stuck away for a year. Pictures decades old and much less, people and moments it give thanks for.

Choice and I walking with our grand-daughters in the park and watching with wonderment as a great blue heron takes flight. Watching the finches seemingly bicker amongst themselves for spots on the feeder even when there seems to be be plenty of spots to share the bounty from. Plucking cherries off a tree and spitting out the pits while enjoying the tart, tasty fruit. Singing with a bunch of kids of all ages at Vacation Bile School.

Standing at home plate of a live, green baseball field, under blue skies and a warm sun while taking part in the marriage of a young couple. It was a surreal moment. (May they know thankfulness for that moment for years to come.) I could go on and on, but for the moment it just feels good to be home.

No matter where we may find ourselves, challenges or sorrows present as well, may we have a chance to be thankful in the midst of it all "for the steadfast love that endures forever".

In the peace and presence of the Christ, Pastor Randy

"Holy God, may your Word, read and proclaimed, be for us this day living water and the bread of life. We yield ourselves to the Word you will speak to each of us, seeking only to hear your voice, see your face and respond to your will for our lives. Amen."

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Back to VBS again. That partial verse is part of our focus for our last night. And it fits well the theme "Love Binds Us Together". What the verse is about is establishing family where the world says there is no real family.

It is a lovely idea. And that is what we are about. Are we related? Only by that God who is the Father of us all. So, we gather together for VBS and it is a microcosm of what we try to do as a community of faith as a whole. We have plans and a time table, but they are not always kept to strictly. What we do have is a wide variety of people singing boldly sometimes looking pretty silly. We eat together, pray together, pretend that someone is in charge, and sometimes we simply go with the flow.

We adjust our plans and laugh at ourselves and play games and sing some more. We create art that others might question. We get unacceptably loud according to who?), run in circles, play when we are supposed to be serious and wonder where being serious gets us. Sometimes we get hurt (like my little grand daughter Avery), but then there is someone there to take care of us (thanks Brenda), and we live through the hurt, and manage to smile after all.

It is the life of the family of the church. "Your people are my people. Your God is my God." We do not fully know what that means, or how it might work out. But we jump in, know pain and joy, foolishness and certainty, and end up grinning in the end, in spite of ourselves.

Giving thanks for showing up, for the seeds that are planted and watching how the growing is going for us all.

In the name of the Christ,Pastor Randy

"Lord God, thank you for the privilege of serving you with our resources as well as with our very lives. Use these gifts, we pray, to bring about peace and justice, healing and hope, and to spread the good news that Jesus Christ offers reconciliation to God. Amen."

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

VBS is in need of twelve regular sized shoe boxes with separate lids, in good condition. The kids at VBS will decorate the boxes and the lids, then fill the boxes with small gift items, to be given to less fortunate children.

We would sure appreciate getting any shoe boxes the congregation members could donate. They could bring the boxes with them Sunday.

So those who need RE-CERTIFICATION ---this class is for you! We also need those of you who have current certification but need only orientation to the AED. (which will happen towards the last half of the class)

We have some members who need the the entire class for the first time and I will help you locate where these classes are available. That class is more like 6 hours total!

Please call Tammy at the church office, Connie McFall or myself if you have any questions. Thank you so much for your participation and service.

"But Jonah set out to flee .... from the presence of the Lord." Jonah 1:3

Those words describe Jonah's first action in the brief book that bears his name. Not exactly the actions of a hero. But God worked through him anyhow, because God loved him. Mostly we know him as a result of the story of him being swallowed by a large fish, not because he was a sweetheart of a guy. It is as Frederick Buechner writes, " Within minutes of swallowing the prophet Jonah, the whale suffered a sever attack of acid indigestion, and it's not hard to see why. Jonah had a disposition that was enough to curdle milk." Not exactly high praise.

But again the key is that God loved him and worked through him. And Jonah is part of our family history and one of the folks we will be learning about at Vacation Bible School next week. Our theme this year is "Where love is the tie that binds." God's love for us binds us all together, a huge family, not always lovable, but always loved.

We will sing, play, learn, do for others and simply be together. Come and join us. Raise your voices. At the very least (although it is hardly a least kind of thing) keep this time in your prayers.

In the name of the Creator of all things, Pastor Randy

"God hears the prayers of the humble and contrite heart. God sees beyond our family name and sees our innermost being, not for what is was or is but for what it can and will be once God gets a hold of it. God's grace takes our old life and old self and re-creates them into the very image of Christ."

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." Philippians 4:4

Those are the first words of a beautiful section of that letter. The rest of it talks about setting aside worries and knowing God's peace. I refer to it again and again, to be reminded of the possibilities that faith can provide. But at this point in time it is the whole "rejoice" part that really grips me.

And so I return to the same theme as last week. Rejoicing in moving, in being here fully physically for all the folks who helped in the actual move. Rejoicing in what seems to be simple things, things that are sorely missed when they are not present.

Actually hung up some pictures I haven't seen for a while. Gosh that felt good, and I probably looked like an idiot staring at pictures on a wall. Stood on the deck for a moment in the morning before heading into the office, heard birds singing, saw lots of green, and then driving, turning on to TV highway and there was Mt. Hood. My soul swelled at the beauty. Rejoice indeed!

The old is made new and it is truly possible to take in all of those words of Paul and look at life in a whole new light.

In Christ,Pastor Randy

"Creator and Redeemer, help us to go forth as a changed people. People whose lives have been forever changed by the grace of God. And let us never more nullify that grace by taking it for granted in any and all things that we do. Amen."

Looking Ahead;

Scrip Orders are due Sunday June 13th, Clara will be collecting orders this month, please submit your orders and money to her or leave them in the church office.Next order date is July 11th (Ladies Dinner group, July dinner will be at Olive Garden, don't forget to order your gift cards to cover your dinner.)

Council; Executive Council meets June 15th, Council meets on June 17th

VBS is scheduled June 21 - 23, 5:45 p - 8:00 p ages preschool - 6th grade.If you have not registered your children please fill out a registration form located in the narthex.

Rummage Sale is July 23 and 24, please continue to bring your clean and gently used items to the church. Volunteer sign up sheet is located in the narthex, please take a moment to look at them and see where you can assist. (cashiering, bake sale, hot dog sale, bagging, assisting customers etc)

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Healing for Larry Gilbertson's recent day surgeryhe is recovering at home.

Our grads and their families are invited to join the congregation as we celebrate our graduates and the accomplishments that they have made to achieve their diploma's. We want to show our support for each of them as they take the next steps in their life journey. All these students have been part of the SOV family since they were very young children. Please keep them in your prayers as they each go in different directions after their graduation. We are proud of each of them!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Saturday was "Move out" day in Albany for Pastor Randy and Choice. We had about 36 people from SOV and Good Shepherd there to accomplish a record setting move out! From 8:45 AM to 11:15 AM all the "shepherds" had everything moved out and on the road to Beaverton. Food and beverages for breakfast snacks and lunch kept the "shepherds" moving and energized. Randy and Choice had their family around them for last good bye's to the home they shared for 14 years then they were on the road (AT LAST) and ready to prepare for Monday's "move in"!

Monday was "move in" day. The SOV "shepherds" started by 8:30 AM with Dick's trailer, then Marty's, the rental truck and Bob & Connie's trailer being emptied and moved in by noon! Again the food team provided breakfast snacks, beverages and a hearty selection for lunch! We had at least 36 people from SOV helping to accomplish the move in, food and help with cleaning. At last, Pastor Randy and Choice are official Washington County residents!

We are thankful for all the "shepherds" that participated in making the move go smoothly. The only "hitch" was a trailer being "hitched" to move things here!

This last weekend was a lot of work yet the members of SOV came together and were a wonderful team to show that many hands make the job not only faster to complete but provided fun and fellowship as well! We were honored that members from Good Shepherd worked with us to make the move complete.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

"Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name." Psalm 30:4

There was a large part of me certainly ready to "sing praises" alright. The moving days had finally come, moving out and moving in. The weather was more than co-operative. There were so many people to help, in both the going and the coming, that I was amazed. (And thankful for the effort given on a holiday weekend no less!)

And while thankfulness is rightfully the theme in all this, that certainly wasn't always the case, as sometimes I questioned the timing, or the length of the time anyhow. Truth be told though, even in my doubting God was present to meet me whether I was ready to know that or not.

Psalm 32 (shortly after the one quoted above) is filled with such assurances, and I have turned to that psalm again and again. Thankfulness is not always at the forefront. In that psalm are found the words, "While I kept my silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. ... my strength dried up as by the heat of summer. ... at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them." It is all about God's presence at any and all times.

God does not always move in a timely fashion, at least as far as I can tell. (My time and my fashion.) But that does not mean that God is not moving. Is there a chance I might remember that in all the days hence? Remember? Yes! Always? No. But that presence of the Lord does not depend on my knowing. And for that there is ample reason to "give thanks to his holy name".

In Christ,Pastor Randy

"Holy God, may your Word, read and proclaimed, be for us this day living water and the bread of life. We yield ourselves to the word you will speak to each of us, seeking only to hear your voice, see your face and respond to your will for our lives. Amen."